The development of electronic commerce systems is subject to different conditions than that of conventional software systems. This includes the introduction of new activities to the development process and the removal of others. An adapted process must cope with important idiosyncrasies of EC system development: EC systems typically have a high degree of interaction, which makes factors like ergonomics, didactics and psychology especially important in the development of user interfaces. Typically, they also have a high degree of integration with existing software systems such as legacy or groupware systems. Integration techniques have to be selected systematically in order not to endanger the whole software development process. This article describes the development of an EC system and it generalizes salient features of the software process used. The result is a process model that can be used for other highly integrative EC system development projects. The processes described are determined by short process lifecycles, by an orientation towards integration of legacy systems and by a strict role-based cooperation approach.

Das LfULG nutzt seit mehreren Jahren das Prozessmodell EROSION 3D im Rahmen seiner fachlichen Forschungs- und Beratungstätigkeit zur Untersuchung abfluss- und bodenschutzbezogener Fragestellungen. In einem Forschungsprojekt wurden in der Entwicklung befindliche Prozesskomponenten des Modells EROSION 3D bezüglich der Simulation des hochwasserrelevanten Oberflächenabflusses geprüft. In drei sächsischen Einzugsgebieten wurden der Mehrschicht-Infiltrationsansatz und der Abflussretentions- und -translationsansatz der EROSION 3D-Versionen 3.11 und 3.14 anhand realer Niederschlags-Abfluss-Ereignisse getestet. Gleichzeitig werden Möglichkeiten einer Weiterentwicklung aufgezeigt, um eine operationalisierte Nutzung des Modells in der planerischen Praxis in Zukunft im Bereich der Oberflächenabflussabschätzung zu ermöglichen. Das primäre Ziel der Validierung lag in der Aufdeckung von Modellsensitivitäten und möglichen Fehlerquellen, die entweder durch die Parametrisierung, die Prozessabbildung oder unvollständiges Anwenderwissen bedingt sind. Ein weiterer Schwerpunkt lag in der Optimierung der Modellergebnisse durch Verbesserung der Eingangsdaten. Das vorliegende Heft der Schriftenreihe enthält die Ergebnisse des Forschungsprojektes und wendet sich vorrangig an Anwender des Programms EROSION 3D.

The practical execution of an entrepreneurial process for technology-driven ventures in emerging markets can be likened to a maze - a dynamically complex process with many navigational contingencies. While the overall navigational path may appear straightforward conceptually, the actual execution path inherently becomes fraught with sub-optimal turns and apparent dead-end trails as an entrepreneur dynamically confronts many challenges. The navigational path for effectively sequencing events can be confounding, especially since event outcomes are highly contingent upon timing as well as execution of the appropriate events; seemingly 'right' actions can be applied at the 'wrong' time in the process with the corresponding result being an undesired outcome. Combining practical experience with academic research, this paper addresses the entrepreneurial process maze by presenting the authors' phased-structure process model for proactively sequencing effective actions in entrepreneurial ventures. Fundamental to this process model is a 'tactician' phase wherein a seven-step prescription is introduced to help entrepreneurs navigate the maze and dynamically sequence the 'right actions' at the 'right time' for commercialising innovations. Both the phased-structure process model and its seven-step prescription for the tactician provide practical guidance for technology-driven entrepreneurial ventures.

This diploma thesis focuses on business process modeling. The main theme is the use of business process modeling as a tool to increase business efficiency. The first part of the thesis provides a theoretical framework of process management and process modeling, in the context of both historical development and the latest trends. In the second part has been identified inefficiencies in the current process setup and several changes was suggested. The models were developed in accordance with the International Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) standard. Models were created in Bizagi Modeler. The result of this diploma thesis is optimized processes and proposals for their implementation in a particular company.

Thesis (DPhil (Environmental Health))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / Informal caregivers play an important role in the well-being of dependent members in a household. The burdens of these caregivers are multiple and pervasive and may contribute to mental health epidemiology as a result of worry, grief, anxiety and stress. The literature review revealed that studies in caregiving and its various facets began from a pragmatically applied interest rather than from theoretical and intellectual curiosity. The majority of the research on caregiver burden involves meta-analysis of qualitative studies with little quantitative research. Also, many of these studies are concentrated on caregivers of chronically ill patients, such as those suffering from dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and heart disease, without much attention to care burden resulting from caring for those who are not necessarily ill. Similar studies by other researchers did not consider the impact of the physical health of the care recipients or the environmental factors that are critical in the study of female caregiver burden in low-income settings. In addition, existing studies did not adequately evaluate the many potential factors that may vary and influence the lives of the caregivers, especially in a single, comprehensive model. This study attempted to provide a more complete picture of these relationships in low-income and culturally diverse settings. The study population consisted of black/African and coloured populations living in subsidised or low-cost housing settlements. In each of the two different cultural communities, 100 black/African and 100 coloured female caregivers were selected through a systematic random sampling procedure. In addition, data were also collected from caregivers in Tamale, Ghana to assess differences between the socio-demographic profiles of the caregivers in Cape Town, South Africa and Tamale, Ghana. The theoretical paradigm used in this study is the Stress Process Model by Pearlin et al., (1990). The study instrument assessed caregiver burden with both objective and subjective measures through the use of a fully structured questionnaire. The information that was collected according to the constructs of the Stress Process Model included personal and role strains and incorporated the physical health of the care recipients and environmental factors such as kitchen and toilet hygiene. Inclusion criteria for the respondents in both Cape Town and Tamale were the principal female caregivers who were present, willing, and able to give informed consent. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 22) was used for the analyses. The Chi-square test was used to assess the relationships between environmental health, the socio-demographics of the female caregivers and the health status of the care recipients. The hierarchical regression analysis in the form of a General Linear Model was used to model caregiving burden. iv The results showed that the majority of the female caregivers were in the age group 40 – 49 years and in both Cape Town and Tamale, a large proportion was in the low-income group. Also, the majority of the informal caregivers in the two samples were in care tasks as a full-time job, providing more than 40 hours of care per week. Regarding the length of time in caregiving, a large proportion of the caregivers in both Cape Town and Tamale had been in the care role for more than three years preceding the survey, and almost all the caregivers in the Cape Town sample (98.4%) did not use any form of caregiving programme to ameliorate the negative effects of caregiving. Further, the results showed statistically significant relationships between the socio-demographic characteristics of female caregivers (age, education, population group and income status) and the diarrhoea status of the care recipients. Also, a significant relationship was shown between environmental health variables of the home (kitchen hygiene and toilet hygiene) and the physical health of the care recipients. The major predictors of female caregiver burden in the samples were the physical health of the care recipients and access to social grants. On the basis of the analyses, it was recommended that the government should recognise the importance of the physical health of the care recipients and increase the amounts of social grants to the caregivers since this could improve the circumstances of both the caregivers and the care recipients. In addition, this could aid in improving the standard of living of caregivers in these households. Future research in similar settings should disaggregate the data to compare the burden of caring for caregivers of physically strong care recipients with physically ill care recipients.

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This dissertation addresses the role of welfare state/family care regimes, intersecting social locations and stress process factors in influencing the mental health and subjective well-being of informal caregivers of care recipients with age-related needs or disabilities within a European international context. Empirical analyses were conducted with secondary data from the 2012 and 2016 European Quality of Life Surveys. The study sample included informal caregivers (n=6,007) residing in seven different welfare state/family care regimes, including Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, Italy, Greece and the United Kingdom. Ordinary least squares and ordered logit regression models revealed that welfare state/family care regime, social location (including both additive and interactive associations among gender, age group, marital status, and income), and stress process factors were independently associated with the mental health and life satisfaction of informal caregivers. Furthermore, there was some evidence to suggest that social location and stress process factors mediate some of the relationships between regime type and self-reported health and well-being and that stress process factors mediate relationships between social location factors and mental health and well-being. Overall, the results provide support for integrating welfare state/family care regime type and intersectionality factors into the SPM. Thus, future research on informal caregivers‘ mental health and well-being ought to incorporate such factors into their empirical analyses. The results also have some policy and practice implications. Residence in social democratic formal (Denmark), semi-formal (Sweden) and conservative formal (France) care regimes was the most beneficial to informal caregivers self-reported mental health. This was also the case for life satisfaction, except that residence in the liberal semi-formal (UK) was more beneficial than in the conservative formal (France) care regime. Mediating social location and stress process factors suggest that UK policy makers should address the greater social location disparities, greater role overload, and lack of coping resources that advantage Danish and Swedish informal caregivers compared to those residing in the UK. Lastly, policy makers from all the European countries assessed in the study should address the poorer mental health status of women and rural informal caregivers, those who experience role overload, secondary stressors, and lack coping resources. They should also address the the lower levels of formal education, more secondary stressors, and lack of coping resources associated with poorer subjective well-being. / Graduate

Innovation is an integral part of every product development and therefore also important for ”Software as a Service” (SaaS) companies. However, as these companies do not develop for one customer in particular, it may be difficult to understand what features are to be developed in the future. Co-Innovation can be a solution. Co-Innovation proposes a collaboration between two companies for the benefit of both. In the case of SaaS, the other company can be a customer company. The cooperation between the two gives the SaaS company the opportunity to understand what features are wished for by the customer and the customer company gets a more customised software, that fulfills their requirements. This poses the research question: How could a framework for a Co-Innovation project between a SaaS provider and its customers look like? This study aims to answer this question by means of a case-study and by proposing a comprehensive framework for a Co-Innovation project. The proposed framework offers valuable insights and comprises four essential parts. Part one are the Roles involved in the Co-Innovation project. Part two is a Checklist used to evaluate possible Co-Innovation partners. Part three is an EPC process model outlines the step-by-step implementation of the aforementioned Checklist. Part four is a Gantt process that provides a detailed timeline of daily activities during the Co-Innovation project. By presenting this framework, the study answers the research question by offering a comprehensive description of how a Co-Innovation project can be executed, which can be readily adopted by diverse B2B-SaaS providers. Future research exploring the adaptation of this framework to other industries and types of companies holds promise for further advancements in the field.

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No description available.